Themed ornaments with internet radio receiver

ABSTRACT

Apparatuses for playing signals received from the internet or other information highway or a stored database on one or more speakers are described. The apparatus has a receiver for receiving information from preselected addresses; a processor for interpreting the signals; and at least one speaker for playing signals from the internet. There is at least display device in the form of a holographic projector connected to the receiver for displaying a 3D holographic image received from the internet. The processor selects images that correspond with the signals played by the speaker. The speaker projects the sound into certain areas of the environment, so that it appears that the sound is coming from a place other than the actual speaker itself. A holographic projector connected to the processor projects a 3D holographic image onto the place from which the sound appears to originate, rather than on the actual speaker itself.

CROSS REFERENCES TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation in part of U.S. patent applicationSer. No. 15/787,813, filed on Oct. 19, 2017, which is a continuation inpart of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 15/581,209, filed on Apr. 28,2017 (now U.S. Pat. No. 9,936,316 issued Apr. 3, 2018), which is acontinuation in part of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 15/401,773,filed on Jan. 9, 2017 (now U.S. Pat. No. 9,693,140 issued Jun. 27,2017), which is a continuation under 35 U.S.C. § 120 of U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 15/161,658, filed on May 23, 2016 (now U.S. Pat.No. 9,584,913 issued Feb. 28, 2017), which is a continuation-in-part ofU.S. patent application Ser. No. 14/710,707, filed on May 13, 2015 (nowU.S. Pat. No. 9,367,285 issued Jun. 14, 2016), which is acontinuation-in-part of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 13/856,795,filed on Apr. 4, 2013 (now U.S. Pat. No. 9,060,040 issued Jun. 16,2015), which is a continuation in part of U.S. patent application Ser.No. 13/331,469 filed on Dec. 20, 2011 (now U.S. Pat. No. 8,467,722issued Jun. 18, 2013), which is a continuation-in-part of U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 12/180,901 filed Jul. 28, 2008 (now U.S. Pat. No.8,099,039 issued Jan. 17, 2012), which claims the benefit of priorityunder 35 U.S.C. § 119(e) to U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No.60/954,879, filed Aug. 9, 2007, the entirety of all of which is herebyincorporated by reference.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

This application relates to the field of internet receivers that arecapable of receiving Internet radio signals or audio signals from astored playlist. More specifically, this application relates to speakersand video screens that relate to a specific station that is receivedthrough these devices by Bluetooth, Wi-Fi or Wi-Max. It is also notedthat one Bluetooth, Wi-Fi or Wi-Max Internet receiver may be used tosupply signals to multiple speakers and screens.

Internet Radio Stations are easy to broadcast and with Wi-Fi and Wi-Maxcan be transmitted to virtually every part of the world. In fact, theproblem is that so many stations are available on the Internet that itis hard for them to get traction. It is hard for those stations to gettraffic even when they have been “selected” by the service. Therefore,there is a need in the art for an Internet Radio player which can helpan Internet Radio Station gain market share.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to Internet Radio receivers that areawirelessly connected to speakers and screens that are programmed to havea pre-set theme. The theme may be of any number of topics, such assports, holidays, a particular movie or character, or a culture. Thus,music and programming appropriate to the theme is played through thespeaker automatically, while a visual feature, such as a hologram orvideo display is focused onto or emanating from the speaker, so that thespeaker takes on a visual theme of the programming. The speaker isconfigured with an amplifier and a microprocessor that causes thereceiver to send signals from only a pre-set number of thematicallyappropriate stations or playlists that are saved in a database orstreamed from the internet to the receiver. The microprocessor isconnected with a holographic projector or other type of projector, andalong with the playlist or station, causes the projector to project animage that coordinates with the playlist being played. The image can beprojected onto the speaker, or can be projected from the speaker so thatthe speaker takes on the appearance of the image.

The receiver has a processor that connects to an address on the internetor other information highway or to a stored playlist on a computer. Thereceiver is wirelessly connected to the speakers or video screens viaeither Wifi, or BLUETOOTH® technology. Any connection to the internet,however, can be used. The internet receiver can be incorporated into amobile telephone. The receiver also incorporates a transmitter totransmit the internet signals to the various speakers, with a differentinternet signal being transmitted to each speaker or screen.

The receiver has a processor that connects to one of a plurality ofpreselected addresses on the internet or other information highway or toa stored playlist. The apparatus also has an interface for selecting theone of the plurality of preselected addresses. The preselected addressesare related to different themes that correlate with the different visualdisplays. For example, on a mobile telephone with internet capability,the mobile telephone could have a plurality of applications that relateto internet radio stations installed on it. Selecting one of theapplications causes the mobile telephone to communicate with the speakerthat corresponds to the theme of the radio station or internet site andcause that speaker to play the content of the selected site. In apreferred embodiment, the applications on the mobile telephone can bechanged at will, so that the user is not constrained to a static numberof presets. These applications can be loaded on to the mobile telephonefrom the internet, and can play both the audio and visual content.

Selecting the particular theme also activates the display to correlatewith the audio being played. The appearance is configured via a displayscreen, a projection or or holographic displays emanating from thespeaker or toward the speaker. For example, the speaker could alsocomprise a holographic projector that projects 2D or 3D images or videosonto an area or onto the speaker. These images or videos are correlatedwith the theme selected and the audio being played.

In another embodiment, the speaker is a speaker system that projects thesound into certain areas of the environment, so that it appears that thesound is coming from a place other than the actual speaker itself. Thiscan be a surround sound system of multiple speakers, each emittingdifferent wavelegths of sound, or can be a single speaker that projectsthe sound over longer distances, giving the impression that the sound isgenerated from somewhere other than the speaker itself. The holographicprojector then projects the image onto the place from which the soundappears to originate, rather than on the actual speaker itself. Thissystem is especially effective in large stadiums or theaters, and iseffective when multiple holographs are used. For example a dramaticproduction using multiple holographic characters could be staged, withspeakers projecting their voices onto the holographic characters as theymove around the stage. The sound from the speakers can be modulated tofollow the characters around the stage or stadium so it appears that thesound is actually coming from the characters, not the speakers. Thecoordination of the sound from the speakers and the holographicprojector create the illusion of a live character moving in theenvironment.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 illustrates a block diagram of an Internet Radio broadcastreceiving station;

FIG. 2 shows an embodiment where a smartphone communicates wirelesslywith a speaker and video screen to play the selected programming;

FIG. 3 shows the user interface displaying the various options for radiostations for a speaker;

FIG. 4 shows an embodiment employing a holographic projector as thedisplay;

FIG. 5 shows the holographic projector projecting an image onto thespeaker; and

FIG. 6 shows an alternative embodiment, using a directional speaker.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

As used in this specification and the appended claims, the singularforms “a”, “an” and “the” include plural referents unless the contextclearly indicates otherwise. Thus, for example, reference to “a radio”includes a combination of two or more radios, and the like.

As used in this specification and the appended claims, “internet” refersnot only to the internet, but also to any wide area network or localarea network. Use of the term “internet” is not intended to limit thepresent invention to communications received via the world wide web.

As used in this specification and the appended claims, “pre-selected”means that the internet radio address, or URL, has been programmed intothe radio. The pre-selected address may be a default address, or aselection of addresses to which the user can set the radio to default.The addresses can be changed by the user by installing applications forother addresses on the user's smartphone.

As used in this specification and the appended claims, a “speaker” meansany sound emitting device and is not limited to standardelectromechanical transducer type speakers. Non-limiting examples ofsuitable speakers are piezoelectric speakers, electrostatic speakers,flat panel speakers and digital speakers.

As used in the specification and the appended claims, a “smartphone” isa mobile telephone equipped with internet capability.

As used in the specification and the appended claims, an “application”or “app” is a software program installed on a smartphone, which canperform certain functions directly or is used to directly connect thesmartphone to an internet-based program via a link on the display screenof the smartphone.

Referring to FIG. 1, one or more Internet Radio Broadcasters 10 a, 10 band 10 c, provide electronic signals through the internet 12. Thesignals can be received by a combination Wi-Fi/Wi-Max receiver/radio 16and played by multiple speakers 18 a, 18 b and 18 c. The receiver 16 hasa processor 15 and a user interface 17 for controlling the preselectedstations, as well as volume from each of the speakers. The processorassigns each one of internet radio stations 10 a, 10 b, 10 c to one ofspeakers 18 a, 18 b, 18 c so that each speaker plays a different radiostation. The receiver 16 is wirelessly connected to the internet orother information highway. In a preferred embodiment, thereceiver/processor/interface are embodied in a smartphone 60, shown inFIG. 2.

The receiver 16 connects to the internet or other information highwayand the processor 15 directs the receiver to a preselected address onthe internet or other information highway. Each of the speakers 18 a, 18b, 18 c displays an ornamental design related to the topic of thesignals received from the preselected address on the internet or otherinformation highway. Each speaker 18 a-18 c plays a different channeland the ornamental design matches the theme of the signals being played.

Detailed embodiments of the invention have a processor 15 that connectsto a plurality of preselected addresses on the internet or otherinformation highway. The apparatus also has an interface 17 allowing theuser to control various aspects of each of the speakers such as volumeand channel selection within the theme of the speaker.

The ornamental design of some embodiments may be selected from the groupconsisting of: holiday themes, garden themes, spa themes, patrioticthemes, sports, etc. The ornamental design of the speaker may be arepresentation of an edifice, a character, a piece of art or othersimilar representation. The apparatus defaults to an internet radiostation which is correlated with the ornamental design when power issupplied to the speaker.

FIG. 2 shows a speaker 20 according to one or more embodiments of theinvention. The speaker 20 shown has an ornamental design related tofootball. The user can supply power to the speaker by either connectionof a power cord 23 to a standard power outlet or by battery power (notshown). Any buttons and dials on the speaker can be shaped in accordancewith the ornamental design. For example, the user may power the speaker20 by pressing a power button 25, shown as a football-shaped button.

The speaker 20 is programmed with a specific internet radio stationcontrolled by the processor 15 in smartphone 60. This radio station willact as a default station related to the ornamental design. Here, thespeaker 20 may tune to an internet radio station associated with theNational Football League, or a station that broadcast college footballgames. The user may be able program smartphone 60 to add additionalinternet radio stations via an application that can be downloaded tosmartphone 60.

Once powered, speaker 20 is designed to broadcast the default internetradio station or playlist. The mobile phone 60 communicates via WiFi orother method to speaker 20 or via a wired connection 23 using, forexample, an Ethernet connection to a computer or an internet appliance,USB, IEEE-1394, serial, parallel, or any other suitable connection.

The speaker 20 can also have a screen 29 which can display informationrelated to the theme of the internet radio station that is beingbroadcast. For example, the screen 29 can display a football themedgraphic, a picture of a prominent player or any other graphic that isrelated to the content of the station being played. Screen 29 can beplaced on a speaker 20 even without extra ornamentation, so that thedisplay 24 is the only ornamentation to indicate the theme of thespeaker. The ornamentation displayed by screen 24 is transmitted tospeaker 20 from smartphone 60. The software application installed insmartphone 60 connects to a database with graphics that match the topicbeing transmitted, and transmits these graphics to the screen 24. Thedisplay could also be one that is projected from the speaker or as ahologram, as shown in FIG. 5.

A software application loaded onto mobile telephone creates the userinterface 17 that allows the user view and control the programmingassociated with the application, as shown in FIG. 4.

As shown in FIG. 3, the software could offer a selection of differentthemed programming as displayed on a display 17 of smartphone 60. Theuser can pick one of the icons 50 for play through speaker 32. Thissends the desired programming through the audio speaker 32 as well asprograms the display, such as display 29 in FIG. 2, or a holographicprojector 200, as shown in FIG. 5.

As shown in FIG. 4, holographic projector 200 is connected with aspeaker 250 to form the themed ornament according to the invention.Speaker 250 is wirelessly connected to a microprocessor contained in amobile telephone 300. Mobile telephone 300 contains a receiver whichreceives audio signals from the internet and transmits them to thespeaker. In addition, the receiver also receives still images or videodata from the internet and transmits them to holographic projector 200.The microprocesser controls the transmission so that images or videosare always correlated with the audio content selected. This way, theimages projected by projector 200 correspond to the audio signals beingplayed by speaker 250. In some instances a video with accompanying soundcan play via the speaker and projector. In other instances, the video orstill images transmitted are representative of a general theme of theaudio signals. For example the system can play a music video throughboth the projector and speakers. Or, the speakers can play Christmasmusic and the projector can transmit an image of a Christmas tree, asshown in FIG. 5. The microprocessor combines the video and audio datatogether if the two are not already combined in a single streamingtransmission from the internet, so that video and audio are transmittedsimultaneously to the projector and speaker. The user can change theprogramming by installing additional applications on the processor, sothat the preselected stations are not permanent, and the transmissionscan change over time, based on the user's preferences.

Projector 200 can be any type of holographic projector that isconfigured to project 2D or 3D images into a space. Projector 200 canconsist of a light source 201, an object lens 202, a spacial filter 203,a collimating lens 204, a light modulator 205 and an optical lens 206.These elements can produce a high quality 3D holographic image 209.

The projector 200 can be set up so that it projects the image onto thespeaker to transform the appearance of the speaker into the projectedimage, as shown in FIG. 5, where projector 200 projects an image of aChristmas tree onto the speaker, so that it appears as if the treeitself were playing the audio programming. Alternatively, the projector200 can be arranged so that it projects directly from the speaker, toobscure the visibility of the speaker with the hologram. Either way, itlooks like the sound is emanating directly from the hologram.

FIG. 6 shows another embodiment of the invention, in which two speakers250 a and 25 b are used to project sound into a target area 400.Holographic projector 200 then projects an image 270 related to thesound into the same area, so that it appears that the sound is comingfrom that image 270. In a preferred embodiment, the image is a person orcharacter, and the sound is dialogue spoken by the person or character.The speakers 250 a, 25 b and the projector 200 are connected to theprocessor 300 such as shown in FIG. 4 and not reproduced here. Processor300 controls both the playlist emitted by speakers 250 a, 250 b as wellas the image 270 projected by holographic projector 200, as well as thelocation of target area 400, so that processor 300 can move target area400 around in an environment, and the sound and image 270 will bothfollow the location of the target area 400. In an alternativeembodiment, only one speaker 250 a is used.

The various embodiments and aspects of the invention described here canbe employed individually or in conjunction with other embodiments andaspects. Descriptions of individual aspects and embodiments does notpreclude the inclusion of other aspects, embodiments or additionalstructural components.

It is to be understood that the invention is not limited to the detailsof construction or process steps set forth in the following description.The invention is capable of other embodiments and of being practiced orbeing carried out in various ways.

While there have been shown, described and pointed out fundamental novelfeatures of the invention as applied to preferred embodiments or aspectsthereof, it will be understood that various omissions and substitutionsand changes in the form and details of the device illustrated and in itsoperation may be made by those skilled in the art without departing fromthe spirit of the invention. It is the intention, therefore, to belimited only as indicated by the scope of the claims appended hereto.

What is claimed is:
 1. A system for playing signals received from theinternet or other information highway, comprising: an audio devicecomprising: a receiver that connects to the internet or otherinformation highway or to a database having a stored playlist; and aprocessor in the receiver that is programmed to connect to preselectedaddresses on the internet or other information highway or to the storedplaylist; a user interface that is configured for allowing a user tocontrol processes of the processor and change the preselected addressesto which the processor connects; and a least one speaker configured forconnecting to the receiver, the speaker being adapted to play signalsreceived by the receiver and project sound into a target area such thatthe sound appears to be coming from said target area, a holographicprojector connected to the receiver, that is adapted to project a 3Dholographic image that is received by the receiver, wherein theholographic projector is configured to project a 3D holographic imageonto the target area; and wherein the processor is programmed tocorrelate the images displayed by the holographic projector with a themeof the signals played by the at least one speaker.
 2. The system ofclaim 1, wherein the receiver wirelessly connects to the internet orother information highway or to the database.
 3. The system of claim 1,wherein the receiver wirelessly connects to the speaker and holographicprojector.
 4. The system of claim 1, wherein the processor is device iscontained in a smartphone.
 5. The system of claim 1, wherein there are aplurality of speakers that project sound into the same target area. 6.The system of claim 1, wherein the processor is configured to controlthe location of the target area such that the projected holographicimage and sound move with the target area.